Mill Creek Dump

Overview

Mill Creek Dump, also called Fuchs Landfill, sits on 124 acres next to Erie International Airport in Erie, Pennsylvania. It operated as an industrial and municipal dump for about 40 years before closing in 1981. EPA added it to the Superfund National Priorities List in September 1984. The site is divided into three operable units covering sitewide assessments, a trench and treatment area, and a cap with golf course area.

Contaminants include volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, vinyl chloride, and chloroform, along with heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phenol, and ammonia are also present. EPA identified 43 contaminants of concern in total. They have been detected in soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, and debris. The original waste materials included foundry sands, solvents, waste oils, and industrial and municipal wastes.

Cleanup began in 1987 and included several major actions. An engineered cap was completed in September 2001. A groundwater treatment plant has been running since January 1992, extracting and treating contaminated groundwater and discharging the treated water to Marshall Run stream, which flows toward Lake Erie. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection took over operation of the treatment plant in October 2007. Eight acres of wetlands were created on adjacent property, and a flood retention basin was built. In 2011, Erie International Airport extended a runway into the western portion of the site, requiring fill material to raise the cap. That runway opened in November 2012. Millcreek Township reopened the site as a driving range and 6-hole golf course in 2019. EPA made a Site-Wide Ready for Anticipated Use determination in May 2017, meaning all cleanup aspects are in place and no unacceptable risks are present.

Institutional controls restrict land use to public recreation and prohibit residential development. A separate ordinance prevents consumptive use of contaminated groundwater for drinking. The 2021 Five-Year Review found the remedy protective in the short term but recommended additional actions for long-term protectiveness. No one currently faces exposure risk because contaminated soils and sediments are covered, and no drinking water wells are in the contaminated groundwater area. The next five-year review is scheduled for 2026.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager. Administrative records are available for public review at the Millcreek Township Building at 3608 West 26th Street in Erie, and at EPA Region 3's Public Reading Room in Philadelphia.